And the only way to achieve such authentic beauty, according to Bobbitt, was with film, not digital. He used the ArriCam LT with Cook S4 lenses. "Because of the epic nature, there was no question that it was to be on film. Film gives you so many things for free. It's a shame that film is disappearing. We have been so privileged to have the choice and now the choice is being taken away. Choice is what everyone wants. It's what governments and democracies and economic theories are built on."

The other crucial scene, of course, is the whipping of Patsey (Nyong'o) by Northup, done in one continuous take to grip us more viscerally, which has become a signature of McQueen's ever since his acclaimed 16-minute discussion in "Hunger."

"It's the culmination of the horror against humanity," Bobbitt recounts. "He's forced to become complicit yet rise above it after Patsey has begged him to take her life. You know there is a love between them that's not physical. Steve has explored the holding of the single frame in his artwork and his two previous films. There's this realization that when you are presenting extreme violence, if you do not cut away or put an edit of any sort in, then the audience is not given an escape. So many films today induce emotion through editing and it doesn't need to be that way."

But Bobbitt's favorite moment is a close-up of Northup at the two-thirds point with the trees out of focus behind him. The cinematographer was utterly transfixed while shooting it. "The interesting thing is that you're projecting all of your emotions into his. And you're wondering what he's thinking: It's loss, fear, compassion for others, an element of hope. And his face isn't moving until it turns and looks into the camera, and suddenly it's like a knife to your heart. All of those emotions just come through. It's remarkable because your compassion and love for him is sealed at that moment and he shows such dignity. It's such a powerful, simple, little moment."

It's about the primacy of performance, courtesy of Ejiofor, which helps us better comprehend the inhumanity of slavery up close. But the way the cinematographer captures it is primal. It's just one reminder why the very hot Bobbitt ("The Place Behind the Pines," Neil Jordan's "Byzantium," and Spike Lee's "Oldboy" remake) is very much in the Oscar running.